Original Poetry Works by Charlea Smith

Original Poetry Works

Charlea Smith | Year 11

These original poems by Charlea Smith explore ideas around identity, race and connection to place.

Black Person Writings on the wall Man-made horrors

Listen to me when I speak, I am a black person with a tongue, I choose how I use it, I use it not to lash at you, But to help you see things, All from my point of view,

Do not dismiss me, I am a black person with a brain, I think and therefore I am, Do not leave my thoughts, At the doorstep where they don’t belong, Believe in me and listen to me,

Please don’t ignore me, I am a black person with a heart, I am human like you and your family, Please do not brush me off, Not when I cry nor when I smile, I am like you,

Please don’t shun me, I am a black person who has bled, I will not be hurt for your fun, I am me and you should know, That I love you for you too. Simple writings, On the wall, Take the paint, Scratch the rock, Ancient writings, On the wall, Spray the paint, Etch the cement, Read it all, All writings, On the wall.

ABCDEFGHI

Take a glance at me, I only see what labels I, A B C, aborigine, Black, culture, D E F, definitely, Eccentric, foolish, G H I, gay, Hellishly irate.

Sitting in the grass, Waiting for nature to eat me, Take me back to before, All things were man-made.

The Broken Me

I need someone to hold my hand, Walk me through my life, Help me through all that chains, Me to my oppression and past, Take my hand and drag me through, The trauma and lives I’ve lived, I am me, But I am broken.

Dysart

A clock on the wall ticks by as dogs bark, The town is silent otherwise, It’s early morning as workers leave, And small children just awake.

Tired Days in a City

Being tired in door, Getting tired of indoors, There’s nothing outside, Of these wooden doors.

Discovery of Internet

The discovery of Internet may have destroyed me, Not for me, but for others, Others may say the Internet destroyed me, “You are not the same, It is the fault of those on that device of yours,” I must reply in my own defense, “It was not them, but only me, I found things, Things that I understood, Things that completed me and things that I knew, Information! All information!” They don’t like this answer, not at all, no, not at all, They protest and blame the things, To take away my accountability and my honesty.

The rights to me have been secured.

The art of moving on, The art of growing old, The art of accepting time, The art of taking back me.

Kid

Keep your head up, kid, Things aren’t so bad, Keep your smile on, kid, People don’t like sad, Keep on going, kid, Don’t slow down, Keep it up, kid, The act is for them.

…I am left behind.

From Bedourie to Dysart to Brisbane, The world was slow and small, As I grew, the world grew with me, It began faster and busier, Bigger and quicker, I struggled to keep up, Then the world got all too quick, It grew faster than me, It swept me up, It knocked me about, My body had grown, My mind had hurt, The trauma stopped me, But the world did not, It grew and grew and grew, So big and bright, Eventually from small town to city, City! City. City… It is now a city, The world I knew is lights and smoke, No longer trees and dust, The world is too fast and I, … I am left behind.

A

A small town, A small child, A big world, A big hurting, A sad town, A crying teen, A big world, A big issue, A town, An adult, A world, A story.

TICS

Out of control, It’s not me, I didn’t mean, That thing I said,

Out of control, It’s not me, I didn’t mean, The things I did,

Out of control, It’s not me, I didn’t mean, The thing I yelled,

Out of control, It’s not me, I didn’t mean, To hurt you.

White Privilege

Take it all back, Take it all back, Take it all back, Take it all back,

You said it all, You said it all, You said it all, You said it all,

You meant it, You meant it, You meant it, You meant it,

Do not do it, Do not do it, Do not do it, Do not do it,

You abuse it, You abuse it, You abuse it, You abuse it.